Chapter Fourteen:
Exactly thirty minutes later, the two detectives returned to the interrogation room. Coonan had a surprisingly smug look on his face considering the seriousness of the changes he was facing. Rick and Kate returned to their seats just before the lawyer began to speak. "Transactional immunity for all charges related to the murder of Jack Coonan in exchange for the identity of the killer. That's the best I can do. We'll take our chances on the other charges."
The smug look on the faces of both the lawyer and Coonan infuriated both of the detectives, but Rick had expected something like this. He quickly rises to his feet. "I need to discuss this with the DA." Rodgers responds as he and Beckett leave the room. The two walk towards Montgomery's office and wait outside as he finishes a phone call.
The Captain gestures for them to enter. "What have you got Rick?"
"Coonan all but admitted that he had his brother killed, but then he lawyered up. His attorney is offering the identity of the killer in exchange for transactional immunity..." Rodgers respond.
Montgomery arches his eyebrows in surprise. "Why in hell's name would I agree to something like that?"
"I have evidence that proves the person who killed Jack Coonan has been involved in several unsolved murders." Rick replies.
"That's all good and well detective, but why should I let a piece of shit like Coonan walk?" Roy counters.
"Because one of the victims was my mother." Kate replies in a whisper.
Montgomery knew just how important her mother's case was to her. How it was the reason why she became a cop in the first place. He still could see her huddled over her mother's case reports, eating a sandwich while reading with her flashlight for illumination. He was also keenly aware of his own sordid part in this mess.
"Let me talk to the DA. I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do." Roy answers as he looks directly at Beckett.
Kate feigns a sad smile and mouths a silent 'thank you' to her captain. "We still have charges pending for drug trafficking and the Feds are ready to charge him for fraud and several other things related to a charity he runs." Rodgers offers, hoping that this will help influence the DA into giving them the transactional immunity that they were seeking.
"I'll keep that in mind. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything." Roy replies as the two leave his office.
It was less than an hour later when Montgomery appears at their desks with a grim smile. "The DA agreed to the immunity in exchange for the conviction of the man hired to murder Jack Coonan. This means that your suspect has to not only identify him, he has to testify that he hired the assassin. Anything less is a no-go."
"Understood sir." Rodgers quickly responds and he and Beckett start to make their way towards the interrogation room. Rick stops and turns to face his captain. "Thank you."
"The DA will deliver the formal paperwork first thing in the morning. It's been a long day and I suggest that both of you get a good night's sleep.." Roy replies and returns to his office.
Rick looks at his watch and realizes just how late it is. He looks across his desk to his partner and then gestures to Ryan and Esposito. "Why don't you guys make sure that our guest is placed in a holding cell until morning and then let's call it a day." The two detectives simply nod and wave goodbye as they walk to the interrogation rooms.
Rick offers Kate a small smile hoping to ignore the elephant in the room for at least one more day. "Would you like a ride home Beckett? It's on my way."
"No, thanks okay. I have a couple of stops to make before I get home." She replies with a calm, measured tone.
Disappointed by her rejection, all he could do way respond with. "Alright then. I'll see you in the morning. Have a good evening." Rodgers rises to his feet, slipping on his jacket and is out of the bullpen without looking back at her.
It would be a long sleepless night for both of them.
Rick arrived at the twelfth at his usual time, carrying two coffees and two bear claws as he usually did. Kate was already seated at her desk with a large cup of coffee from one of the shops nearby. He pasted on his usual smile and sat the cup on her desk along with the pastries. Hoping to lighten the mood he commented. "Looks like someone needs a double dose of caffeine this morning."
She never looks up from the paper she was reading at that moment. "That's ok Rodgers. I decided that I need to take care of myself from now on." The iciness in her words were clearly apparent. "Oh, and I can fend for myself if I'm hungry." She comments and then pushes the bag across to his desk.
Knowing there was nothing that he could say at this moment to make things better, he decided to focus his attention to the task at hand - catching Jack Coonan's killer. "Has the DA's office dropped off the agreement yet?" He inquires.
"No." She responds, never looking up from her papers.
Whatever guilt he was feeling was quickly replaced with anger towards his partner for her behavior. Another ten minutes pass of total silence before he decides that he's had enough. "Look Beckett, I understand that you don't like me right now. I get it. All I ever had was the best of intentions. But then again as the old saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions."
He pauses for a moment waiting for some reaction from his partner. Seeing nothing, he presses on. "I'm sorry if you feel that I've overstepped, but right now we've got a case to solve. If you don't think that you can act like a professional, then maybe you ought to take the day off. I need someone that I can work with."
He knew that he was being deliberately mean to her, but right now they needed to close this case. She could ask for a new partner after this was over. He hated the thought of breaking up Ryan and Esposito as they had grown to become a very good team. He'd talk to Montgomery after this was over and see if a trade could be worked out with another team. He hated the idea, but knew that trust was critical for a partnership to work.
And he knew that his partner didn't trust him.
Another hour passes before the courier delivers the document to his desk. He calls Coonan's attorney and tells him that he has the papers and to get here as quick as he can. The four detectives met in one of the conference rooms to discuss how they would approach their interrogation of Coonan. A background check that Ryan had obtained from the FBI revealed that Coonan had been a Special Forces soldier years before and had probably established some contacts in the region during his time in the Mideast.
Coonan's attorney arrives about an hour after Rick's call and Dick is returned to the same interrogation room from his holding cell where he spent the night. The smug smile on his face had returned upon seeing the two detectives enter the room. They both sat down as Rodgers began to speak. "We have your agreement, but there are a few conditions that must be met for it to apply." Rick shoves the document across the table to the attorney sitting beside Coonan.
The lawyer quickly scans the document and whispers something into his client's ear. The two detectives watch as Coonan shakes his head in disagreement. The muted conversation continues between the two of them for another minute or so before the attorney sighs and pushes the document back across the table. "I'm sorry, but the way this agreement is worded, there is no way that he can meet his part of he agreement."
"Why is that? You've all but admitted that you hired the assassin that killed your brother." Rodgers counters.
"Because all I have is a name." Coonan replies before his lawyer can stop him. "I sent a text message with the name of the target and then deposited $50,000.00 in an off shore account as a sign of good faith. If he accepted the offer, I would receive a text message. He always fulfills his obligation within 72 hours after acceptance."
His lawyer interrupts Coonan before he can say any more. "Detectives, as you can see, my client is more than willing to cooperate with your investigation, but he cannot identify a person he never met. If we can modify the agreement to the things he can provide, he'll provide you with everything he knows."
Rick stands and pulls the document from the table. "I don't have the authority to make such changes. Let me speak to the people that can." He walks out of the room, Beckett following silently behind him.
Rodgers knocks on the Captain's door and is immediately ushered inside. He and Beckett stand in front of Montgomery's desk silently waiting for their boss to finish the call he was making at the moment. He eyes the two detectives standing before him suspiciously. "Is there a problem Rodgers?"
Rick swallows before speaking. "We've ran into a problem sir. It appears that Coonan cannot physically identify the assassin as the immunity agreement specifies. All he has is a name, a phone number and an offshore account number where he made his payment for the hit."
The frown on Montgomery's face grows as he considers what Rick has just told him. "This isn't good... What do you propose detective?"
"That we accept the modified agreement, but make Coonan have to contact the killer with another contract. We pick the victim and when he accepts the offer we catch him when he tries to execute the contract. We hold Coonan until the killer is captured." Rick quickly replies as if he had thought this out already.
"I don't know about this detective. It sounds like a great deal of risk for very little reward. And besides, who do you want to pick as the target?" Roy counters.
Rick can see Kate physically deflate before him, knowing that the best chance of catching the man that murdered her mother slipping through her fingers. "What about the others that this SOB has killed? Aren't they entitled to justice? Don't we owe them that much?" Rodgers pleads to his boss.
Montgomery knew who Rodgers was really talking about and sighs in agreement. "I don't like this one bit, but what choice do we have? Let me talk to the DA and see if I can get him to agree to your plan."
"Thank you sir." Rick quickly replies.
"You know if this thing goes sideways the DA's going to have all our asses." Roy remarks as he picks up the phone and calls the DA.
Beckett and Rodgers enter the interrogation room again, returning to their seats facing Coonan and his lawyer. He places the document on the table between the two of them. "Give me everything that you have on the assassin and you'll get your deal." Rick's voice is even and measured, fighting back the contempt he felt for the man sitting across from him.
Both Coonan and his lawyer smile at their victory as the attorney quickly scans the document, crossing out the conditions on it that no longer applied. Once he was done he slid the paper back across the table. "Initial the changes that I've made and we'll sign your agreement."
Rick slid the document to Kate, who quickly scanned over the changes and frowned. Coonan would basically walk on a murder charge if they agreed to this with nothing more than a name, a account number and a promise to testify if they caught the killer. As much as she wanted to bring down the person responsible for her mother's death, she wasn't sure if this was the way to do it.
Kate starts to scribble her own conditions on the document, including Coonan's participation in the the contact of the assassin and providing the $50,000.00 required for his services. She slides the document back across the table and tells the attorney to initial her changes and they all can sign the document.
He starts to balk at her demand that Coonan provide the funds to secure the services of the assassin, but Dick whispers to him to go ahead and agree. This puzzled everyone else in the room, but Kate simply assumed that he was happy to pay the money to escape a murder charge and possible death sentence.
Papers signed, Coonan begins to provide the information that he has. "All I have is his alias, Rathborne. I send a text message to a a number with the name of the target along with a deposit of fifty k to this account...". Coonan scribbles a number on a sheet of paper. "and wait. If he accepts the contract, he'll send me a text message from the same number l contacted him with."
"What happens after that?" Kate inquires.
Coonan can't help but smirk at the question. "If he accepts the contract, then I send the balance to the same offshore account."
"You never mentioned another payment. How much more?" Beckett asks.
"Fifty K." Coonan replies.
"And the NYPD will have to provide that money." Coonan's lawyer quickly responds. "I believe that my client has been more than fair providing his own money for your sting."
"There's no way the NYPD is going to give us this type of money." Beckett replies.
"In that case, we are done here. We have honored our part of the agreement and my client should be free until charges are filed regarding the other matters." He starts to push his chair back from the table to get up.
"Sit back down. We'll get the money." Rick calmly replies, surprising everyone else in the room. He slides his cellphone across the table. "Make the call."
"Who's the target?" Coonan inquires.
"Johnny Vong." Rick replies, shocking his partner, who starts to protest. He simply smiles and places a hand over hers.
Coonan smiles and starts to prepare the text message. He sends it and slides the phone across the table for Rick to see that it was sent. Rodgers looks at the device to verify the number that the message was sent to was the same one that Coonan claimed went to the assassin. "What now?" He inquires.
"I need access to a computer so that I can transfer the fifty grand to Rathborne's account." Coonan replies.
Rodgers gets up from his seat and exits the room, leaving his partner sitting there. She was still trying to figure out how Rick was going to come up with the extra money they needed. If Rathborne accepted the contract. Rick returns to the room a minute or two later with a laptop computer. He slides it across the table to Dick. "Transfer the money."
After a few minutes of typing, Coonan smiles and slides the computer back across the desk, letting the two detectives see that there has been a transfer from his personal account. "Done."
"What now?" Kate inquires.
"We wait and see if he accepts the offer. He'll send a text message to the number I called him from and then you send the remainder to the account number I gave you in the Cayman Islands." Coonan calmly replies.